Webster mother accused of injuring her 2-year-old

Sunday

Feb 23, 2014 at 6:00 AM

By Craig S. Semon TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

WEBSTER — A Webster woman is accused of causing substantial injury to her 2-year-old daughter, and the injury might require that the child have part of an internal organ surgically removed.Melissa S. Viveiros, 30, of 9 Maynard Ave., Apt. 2, is charged with assault and battery with substantial injury on a child, reckless endangerment of a child and assault and battery.According to the police report, Assistant District Attorney Cheryl Riddle contacted Police Detective James T. Hoover about a 2-year-old girl at UMass Memorial Medical Center in Worcester with injuries believed to be consistent with having been abused.The child's father, who has joint custody of the child with Ms. Viveiros, took the child to the emergency room Feb. 13 because he was concerned about bruises the child had on her body. Ms. Viveiros had dropped child off at her father's the day before, the police report states.The father noticed bruising under the child's chin area, which Ms. Viveiros said the child inflicted on herself. The father also noticed bruises on the girl's abdomen and back area, which Ms. Viveiros had told him about earlier in the week, the police report states.According to the police report, the child had bruises across her abdomen, from just above her belly button to her right hip, which looked like a hand print. In addition, the child had large bruises on her right hip above and below the top of her diaper.Ms. Viveiros initially told police that she thought grabbing her daughter when she got away from her in a supermarket's parking lot caused the bruises. However, she later told police that she probably grabbed her daughter harder than she thought and hard enough to cause some of the bruises.A CT scan of the child's abdomen found internal injuries and blood clotting. A UMass Memorial doctor said the child's internal injuries were serious, and in her medical opinion the injuries were most likely intentionally inflicted. Furthermore, the amount of force necessary to cause such injuries would have been extreme, according to the police report.The doctor said the child might need to have a portion of her bowel removed because of the injuries. She also said this type of injury, if not treated, could be fatal, the police report states.Ms. Viveiros was arraigned Tuesday in Dudley District Court. Bail was set at $1,000, and she was ordered to stay away from and have no contact with her daughter and to comply with conditions set by the state Department of Children and Families. A pretrial hearing is slated for April 11.